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How Do Healthcare Professionals Prefer to Job Hunt? – 2/11/2013

The healthcare industry is thriving. January data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows it employed more than 17,000,000 professionals and has an unemployment rate of only 5.4 percent—significantly lower than the overall U.S. rate of 7.9 percent. In fact, since the beginning of the Great Recession in late 2007, a large percentage of new jobs have been within healthcare. In January alone, the industry accounted for 14.6 percent of new positions.

As the need for new physicians, nurses, assistants and administrators continues to grow—due to an increasing demand for services coupled with the retirement of senior healthcare workers — employers
and recruiters may be faced with staffing issues. Unless, that is, they learn how the best candidates in the industry prefer to hunt for jobs. Consider these insights from AMN Healthcare’s 2011 survey of healthcare professionals.

If recruiters and employers want to maximize their contact with jobseekers, it is advisable to advertise vacancies using a variety of these popular methods.

Job Boards Dominate

Job boards are still the preferred tool for connecting qualified professionals with hiring managers. In fact, a 2012 survey conducted by Millennial Branding found that 77 percent of professionals between the ages of 18 and 29 prefer to use job boards. The number is even higher for those between the ages of 30 and 47 (82 percent) and 48 and 67 (87 percent).

More Healthcare Professionals are Using Social Media for Networking

Networking
is still an important part of the healthcare job search—yielding referrals as well as introductions to employers and recruiters. Again, industry professionals are turning to social media in larger numbers. Forty-eight percent used social media for networking in 2011, an increase of 11 percent over 2010. RNs, allied health professionals, physicians and pharmacists prefer Facebook for professional networking purposes.

If recruiters and employers want to attract valuable passive jobseekers as well as those actively searching for a new position, social media networking may prove to be an increasingly valuable tool. However, they should not disregard the use of job boards, either—especially those focused on the healthcare niche like the HealtheCareers Network. Because this site contains information on the latest industry news, many users visit it for the content—whether they’re searching for a job or not. As a result, recruiters utilizing this tool are able to reach active and passive job seekers alike.